Privacy-respecting alternatives to Google services

I used to be all-in on Google. Gmail, Drive, Photos, Calendar, Chrome, Search. It is convenient, but the tradeoff is that Google knows everything about you. Every search, every email, every photo, every location. At some point I decided the convenience was not worth the surveillance.

Switching away from Google is not all-or-nothing. I replaced services one at a time over about a year. Here is what I landed on.

Search: DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is my default search engine. The privacy aspect is the obvious reason, but the bang shortcuts are what keep me there. Type !gh to search GitHub, !npm for npm, !mdn for MDN. I have written a separate post about why DuckDuckGo's bangs make it genuinely faster than Google for developer workflows.

When DuckDuckGo's results are not sufficient for a particular query, the !g bang drops you into Google results instantly. Best of both worlds.

Email: Mailcow (self-hosted)

Gmail is the hardest Google service to leave because everyone expects you to have it. I went the self-hosted route with Mailcow, a full-featured mail server suite that runs in Docker. It gives you email, calendar, and contacts with a clean web interface (SOGo) and full control over your data.

Self-hosting email is not for everyone. Deliverability requires proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration, and you need to monitor your IP reputation. But once it is set up, it works reliably and you own your entire email infrastructure.

Cloud Storage: Nextcloud (self-hosted)

I replaced Google Drive with a self-hosted Nextcloud instance. Files sync across my devices, I can share links with others, and the mobile app handles photo uploads. The storage limit is whatever drives I put in my server.

If self-hosting is not your thing, Proton Drive or Tresorit are solid cloud options with end-to-end encryption.

Photos: Immich (self-hosted)

Google Photos is genuinely hard to replace. The search, the automatic albums, the shared libraries. Immich is the closest open-source alternative. It has facial recognition, location-based browsing, and a mobile app that handles automatic photo backup.

It is not as polished as Google Photos, but it is actively developed and improving fast. I run it on my homelab and it handles my photo library well.

Browser: Vivaldi

Chrome is fast but it is a data collection tool. I use Vivaldi, which is Chromium-based (so it supports all Chrome extensions) but built by the team that originally created Opera. It has built-in ad blocking, extensive customization, tab stacking, and does not send your browsing data to Google.

The tab management alone is worth the switch. Tab stacking, split-screen views, and a sidebar for quick access to tools are features I use daily. It is the power user's browser.

DNS: AdGuard Home + Quad9

I run AdGuard Home on my network for DNS-level ad blocking and use Quad9 as the upstream resolver with DNS-over-HTTPS. Quad9 blocks known malicious domains and does not log queries.

The cost

The self-hosted services (Mailcow, Nextcloud, Immich, AdGuard Home) run on hardware I already own. DuckDuckGo and Vivaldi are free. Compared to the "free" Google services that cost you your privacy, the actual monetary cost is essentially zero beyond the server.

What I still use from Google

YouTube. There is no real alternative for video content. I use it in Vivaldi with uBlock Origin to block ads. I also still use Google Maps because the alternatives (OpenStreetMap, Apple Maps) are not as good for navigation in all areas.

Perfection is not the goal. Reducing your dependency on a single company that monetizes your data is.

Sources

• DuckDuckGo
• Mailcow Documentation
• Immich
• Vivaldi Browser
• Quad9 DNS